There is a new school wide policy on cell phones with varying opinions from students. The general opinion from staff is positive.

  “I am super excited. I had such a great day yesterday with the official roll out of no cell phones in the classroom,”said English teacher Rebecca Bortnichak.

  Each teacher was given a cell phone pocket rack that contains 30 slots for cell phones. At the beginning of class, students are required to give up their cell phones and place them in their assigned pocket.

  The thought is that if cell phones are removed from students, there will be less distractions and more learning.

  “I had students participating that normally don’t,” said Bortnichak. “I really felt like I had my classroom back.”

  Some are unsure if this policy will be more effective than policies in the past.

  “I have mixed feelings about it,” said senior Kaelyn Weisbrod. “I like the idea of having no phones so that students will actually pay attention and learn the material. On the other hand, I think it’s the student’s’ responsibility to retain what their teacher is teaching”

  There have been many changes to the cell phone policies over the 4 years Weisbrod has attended high school.

  “About two [policy changes] a year. I’d say around 8 [changes to policy] since I started high school” said Weisbrod.

  This is the first real change to the policy for freshmen.

“[The freshman class] uses phones the most” said freshmen Marec Sackrider.

  Many wonder if this change will actually increase productivity in the classroom. If students do not have their biggest distraction on them, they should be more focused and attentive.

  It is still early in the trimester, so results may not be completely accurate. Teachers and other staff members seem to think this was a necessary change for the better.

 Some feel the pockets that teachers require students to place their phone in are too much. Students argue that the pockets are too invasive.

 “I don’t think it’s necessary,” said Weisbrod. “I think it’s a waste of money from the school. You could just use a bucket or set them all on a table by the teacher”

Others feel that the policy has the potential to benefit students a great amount. Even if they cannot use cell phones now, education is superior to social media.

  “I think it’s a good policy,” said Sackrider. “Most students don’t respect it and they keep their phones in their pockets.”

  It is important for students to be respectful of their teachers and the new policy.

  “I have been very impressed by how easy my students have accepted it,” said Bortnichak.

  There may be flaws, but the policy is for the good. Teachers want students to pay attention in class like they are supposed to, and the new policy will benefit all in the end.